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Thursday, January 26, 2012

You've heard the expression: “You learn something new everyday.” You don’t even have to try to learn something new. If you are halfway conscious it will happen . Yesterday I learned that there is someone on the Biggest Loser who cries more than last season’s Bonnie. It is Gail. Oh, and real quick, another thing I learned is that there is a woman in the UK with two vaginas. They really know how to do it up right over there across the pond.

The major, main, big thing I learned today happened when I called Garmin technical assistance. I have the Forerunner 205 and purchased it almost three years go. I have loved it so much I don’t let it out of my sight.

Lately I've been getting a low battery signal after only 90 minutes of use when the watch is fully charged. The watch supposedly has an 8 battery life. WTF?

Today I talked to HeyZeus*, Forerunner Expert (FE). He told me that every year, the Forerunner loses 25% of its battery charge! Are you f’ing kidding me? That means after three years you are down to a battery life of only 2 hours. Since I always run for 8 hours at a time,this is not acceptable. Seriously, if this really is true, shouldn’t this info be known to customers when they buy the damn watch?

FE offered to send me a refurbished 205 for only $69, once I send them my old one. I think it sucks that you pay $130 for a watch and are lucky if it lasts for three years. And, it’s not even a watch you wear all day, everyday. That is unless you’re a complete running nerd and wear your Garmin as your regular watch. If that is the case, I know you are just trying to get attention and have people ask you in the grocery store if you are a runner.

I asked which Garmin the FE, himself, would recommend in my price range (up to $175). He recommended the 410. That’s all fine and good, but the cheapest one I can find is at Buy.com for $219 plus shipping.

So, no mater what I'm going to be shelling out some money for a new Garmin. Crap.

Did you know this fact about a Garmin’s battery life? Does it make you want to punch someone in the face?

I had two 405's and the battery kept dying after 30 minutes of use when they both were 5 months old. I told garmin I do not want another 405 but expect my watch to work. THey replaced it with the 410. Its awesome! I have had no probelems with it and it does everything I need it to do and more.

I don't have any experience with refurbished watches, but I have PLENTY of experience with refurbished cell phones. If they are any indication, then I would recommend going for a new one. None of the refurbished phones that my insurance company has shipped out to me have held up well AT ALL. They tend to just break for no apparent reason. But who knows, maybe the Garmin people are more talented than the cell phone people.

That is lame. We have teh 305 (which is essentially the same as teh 205, but my hubby wanted the HR strap) and we have had it for about the same amount of time...I guess I will be looking for it to start losing battery :( Makes me want to try a different watch next time around!

Whaaa??? Didn't know that either...that sucks! I have the 410 and love it (although it prob does much more than I am even aware of). Hubs got it for me for Christmas at Costco for around $210. Good luck!

Anyway, I expected that a Garmin would not last more than a few years. Rechargeable batteries don't last forever - they have a maximum number of times they'll charge. My laptop battery died much the same way after 3 years. However, I'd much rather have this situation than have batteries I have to replace and throw away.

That is weird! I have had a 301 for 3 years and it lasted over 8 hours for my 50K this fall. I have friends who ran with the 405 and it didn't last for the full 8 hours, died after about 7 so when I wanted a new one for Christmas I asked for the 305. Its battery life is at least 11 hours (my friend ran her whole 50 miler with one). I have heard mixed reviews about the 405.

Lol! I'm not lucky enough to own a Garmin I have a timex lap tap watch that I do wear as an every day watch because my daily watch took a crap and I'm a nurse so I need a watch with a second hand! I want a Garmin! I just did Learn something when I go to buy a garmin or any other watch with gps I will ask about battery life and if they don't know I'll punch them in the face! Ha ha just Kidding!

Sounds like a pretty arbitrary answer and statistic from your support person at Garmin. Based on my experience with their support folks when we had an issue with the GPS in our car, I'm not surprised. Resisting the urge to once again climb up on my customer-service soapbox.

If you get a new one I think you need to stick with the gigantor versions and get the 305. Making them smaller takes all the fun out of strapping that beast to your arm. It's like wearing the first prototype of a digital watch when someone dreamed it up. The only thing better would be wearing this while walking around town talking on a giant brick cell phone like they had in the 80s.

I'd go try on the 410 on at the REI before you buy. My boyfriend has a 410 and it's WAY too bulky on me and hurts my wrist. I recall you have a smaller wrist. I have a small wrist too and the 310xt works for me but I have to wear the watch face facing inward...otherwise I get a bruise on the bony part of my wrist.

Yeah - i've had problems with garmin in the past starting with the Edge 305 but have had better luck the past 5 years.

I have the 405 and was having an issue with the battery holding a charge. My IT guy (husband) told me to let the battery run down closer 0% before charging it up again. Since doing that I haven't had a problem and the battery actually lasts longer than when I was charging it after every use. I've heard mixed reviews about the 405 but I like mine. I watched youtube videos on how to program it. Youtube rocks!

Lol. Thank you for this post. It is not funny that anyone cries that much, and it certainly is not funny to have your BFF watch fizzle. But I would certainly like to punch someone in the face for this, in addition to a whole list of other things.

I do have the 410 and I really like it a lot. BUT, the touchscreen would probably go nutso with all your cold weather running.

Did you know that the 10th president of the United States (John Tyler--born in 1790) has 2 living grandsons? Is that crazy or what?!? I hate batteries. We've had good luck with our 205 and 305 but now that I've said that, one will take a crap. That wouldn't have mattered a week ago but I've decided to strap mine on again and would be very angry if it died.

IS ANYTHING MADE TO LAST ANYMORE? We got new carpet put in 2 1/2 years ago and it is coming up in every room. We take off our shoes in the house, and unlike my parents' house, there aren't 3 kids running, jumping and sliding all over it. Their carpet lasted for 15 years!

Got an iPhone? Until you can shell out the cash for a new Garmin, check out the iSmoothRun app. I have it as a back up to my Garmin, if I forget the Garmin. I always run with my cell phone anyway. It's stupid easy to use and not buggy like Nike+GPS. Good luck.

I didn't know this! I guess I (mistakenly!) thought they had replaceable batteries like all other watches. In defense of my own intelligence, I will note that I've only had a Garmin for about six months. I still haven't learned how to use any of the features, though. The clock is ticking so I better learn how to use it quickly!

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but that happens with all batteries. Battery performance decreases over time, even if you don't use the battery. 25% a year sounds excessive, but it's hard to say since the calendar life is affected by a lot of factors, including temperature. I have to agree with Holly, though, it's pretty dumb that there isn't a way to replace the battery since that's a known issue.

Hmm...learned that I need to call up TomTom/Nike+ to ask about battery life (no sense reading the manual, of course). And start saving my pennies since I'm now hooked on real-time tracking instead of eyeballing my Timex and being a slave to MapMyRun.

Hmm...learned that I need to call up TomTom/Nike+ to ask about battery life (no sense reading the manual, of course). And start saving my pennies since I'm now hooked on real-time tracking instead of eyeballing my Timex and being a slave to MapMyRun.

I learned today that we both hate the KKK (not that that is a surprise or anything). I also learned today that it is possible to have two vaginas (and yes, I totally clicked on that link). I don't own a Garmin...but now I am fully informed about the battery life. so see? I learned three things today...all from YOU.

That sucks big time! I have the forerunner 110 and it never wants to turn off and the battery dies about once a week. Is there a way to turn it off? I think I tried it once but it turned back on by itself. Can the battery be replaced?

Wow, I did bit know that either. Like the others said, but from rei where you can return it if you need to. I have the 305 and gave loved it. For some reason, it doesn't like my road bike being on the trainer and can't calculate distance for anything right now, but who cares about trainer miles?

I have never run with a watch, let alone a garmin. I do trace my runs with running ahead. I do note my times/distances on a TM .. but no garmin. I know my OCD side, and it's ugly. I must not feed the monster, or it will suck the joy right out.

Did I learn something new today? Hmmm.... I learned that my algebra students are off the charts hilarious, and after they spill their family secrets, I start to wonder what horrors my own children spill in class.

I just had the same outcome with the garmin folks, except I paid $75 for a refurb 305 and mine was ony 2 1/2 years old. Still, looking at it as a cost of about 60 per year to be completely obsessed with splits and other stats which then encourages activity which then means I can eat more snickers and so I find it a pretty good deal"

The whole battery life thing is freaking ridiculous. We shell out A LOT of money for these things and to know that they'll only last a few years sucks. My Garmin 305 no longer has any sound....which I use when I coach. I got the same song and dance....we'll send you a refurbished model for $79. If I'm spending that much...and the battery probably won't last...I'm better off buying a new version.

The whole battery life thing is freaking ridiculous. We shell out A LOT of money for these things and to know that they'll only last a few years sucks. My Garmin 305 no longer has any sound....which I use when I coach. I got the same song and dance....we'll send you a refurbished model for $79. If I'm spending that much...and the battery probably won't last...I'm better off buying a new version.

I have had both a 405 and now a 410. (I think I bought one of the very first 405s and then it got long in tooth and I just couldn't deal any more so I bought the 410 when it came out.). They are both fine devices with their advantages and minuses. I chronicled my love/hate relationship with them on my blog, as my Garin is part of my running life. The 410 is better than the 405 in that the touch bezel works when it gets wet. But, it isn't perfect and there are days when it just gets frustrating. The battery just dies. Runs timeout. Wireless transfer is always a roll of the dice. But most of the time, it works great.

And I second the reference to dcrainmaker's reviews. His reviews of the 405 and 410 are spot on, and I could not imagine a more thorough review.

I have a Garmin 305 and the battery life has definitely decreased over the years, now it is down to about 3 hours. That is just what batteries do, it's not the Garmin. It stinks that the battery isn't replaceable though.

Unfortunately with the batteries they use, they drain-just like your computer battery or your cell phone battery. Best thing to do is to not charge it until you absolutely have to (yeah that's a design flaw right there, since you have to charge it to upload your data). My friend has the 410 and loves it! The 410 seems to be the lets get rid of it since the 910 came out... Hmmm?

I've had my Garmin 305 for about a year, and I love it. Boo on Garmin for not making them so you can replace a battery. It is the nature of rechargeable batteries for them to slowly lose the ability to hold a charge, so it's not just Garmin, but that's why you need to be able to replace batteries--ridiculous to have to send it in to have them do it!

Garmin is on my speed dial, I have contacted them about 20 times over the past 6 months, one of them being the battery life. They told me it was a problem with the software and they gave me a refurbished one for $39 after I threw a fit about the $69 - ha. Now my Garmin seems to think I live at sea level and only realizes I don't about mile 2 and thus my elevation data becomes one big straight line. On the phone with them about 6 times for this issue and they said it's a garmin connect issue, which is absurd. I have 1 more day until my refurbished Garmin's warranty is out so guess I'll be on the phone with them AGAIN today!

Speaking of learning new things, that's probably going to be te worst new thing I learn today! In on my second 305 and so far haven't had any battery issues though I've had frozen or won't turn on issues. I hope draining it helps!

I haven't had time to read the comments, but I did a quick search on Bing and found much better prices...this one is on sale for $120.95. http://www.sell.com/27MVB3 it is on sell.com. Just an FYI for you.

Why the hell does nothing last anymore!?!?!? You just talked me out of buying one. I'm really not fast enough to warrant the expense, but damn, I do not want to buy something that expensive more than once every ten years.

I have a 305. It is my second one and I chose it over the newer ones that have come out since I got my first one. My first one died after about 3 years because the seal on the face had developed a small opening that let in moisture gradually over the course of a long run in steady drizzle. My husband's has lasted more than 3 years and can still hold a charge of at least 3 hours.

FYI there are places you can learn how to fix this yourself. I JUST finished with mine it was very easy if you have every used a soldering iron and heat shrink. I replaced the battery with a 1300amp hour and the original was a 750amp hour so it should put the battery life in the ball park of the 410!!!Below is the link I used. I also used a battery with leads as discussed in one of the replies. cut the white off use the black and red. QUICK SIMPLE CHEAP! MY COST Battery $3.00 and heat shrink tubing $6.00http://www.jimandkatrin.com/CodeBlog/post/Forerunner-305-Battery-Replacement.aspx

This happened to my Garmin too, I was going to try to replace the battery myself but I didn't have a soldering iron. Then I found an amazon listing where you can send them your watch and they will replace the battery for you! here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014VWDMU2